FAQ

Who is running the project?
Sea Lanes Brighton Ltd is an integral part of the Brighton and Hove community, made up of businesses and individuals that are passionate about open water swimming. They include: Brighton based swim coach Andy White, Copsemill Properties, QED Sustainable Urban Developments and SwimTrek.

How has the design changed?
The pool will still be a 25m pool. The biggest change to the design is the colour palette of the buildings which have been softened to complement existing seafront assets. Glass balustrades have been introduced to ensure uninterrupted views from Madeira Drive and
the height of the development has been reduced by 1.27 metres with pitched roofs re-introduced to soften the appearance of the scheme and reduce the overall massing.

How many lanes will there be in the swimming pool?
There will be 6 lanes meaning the swimming pool has the capacity to hold 36 swimmers comfortably at any one time.

Why is the pool now only 25m instead of 50m?
The supporting commercial space (39 small business units) is sufficient to support the investment and operation of a 25m pool over a 5-year period. To deliver a 50m pool, significantly more commercial space would be required and it is these proposals that will continue to be developed during the meanwhile use of the site.

This phased strategy has been developed to deliver the scheme without the need for grant funding and is seen as the most expedient way of delivering additional swimming facilities for the community. Sea Lanes Brighton long-term plan remains to deliver a 50m swimming pool that becomes recognised as the national open water swimming centre.

Will the swimming pool be a sea water pool?
No, the pool will be chlorinated.

Will the pool be heated all year round?
Yes, the pool will be heated all year round

What will be in the buildings?
The commercial development enables the pool’s delivery and continual operation. It will be focused on leisure uses such as yoga and fitness studios, physios, therapists and sauna facilities. There will be food and beverage offers and Swimtrek, one of the partners in SeaLanes and recent winners of the Queens award will be re-locating their headquarters to the site and act as the anchor tenant.

What has changed from the original proposal?
The updated proposed ‘meanwhile use’ plans have changed again in design and ecological factors. The pool will still be a 25m pool, the colours of the proposed buildings are softened. Ecological factors include moving and expanding a vegetated shingle mound to create a new high-quality habitat and introducing green roofs to the development.

What do you mean by meanwhile use?
The term ‘meanwhile use’ refers to the short-term use of a site or premises until they can be brought back into a more permanent use in the longer-term.

Phasing the development in this way will deliver a 25m pool, which the local community can benefit from, whilst the ideal alternative and wider regeneration plans continue to be finalised.

Why is the proposed scheme only 5 years?
Sea Lanes Brighton have secured an initial temporary lease of five years from Brighton & Hove City Council, with an option of a 150 year lease, providing a 50m pool is built within a specific timeframe. This enables us to prove the viability of our concept and support the regeneration of this area of the seafront.

What are the long-term plans for Sea Lanes?
The application is initially for a 5-year lease with a 25m pool. Within this time, Sea Lanes will be making a subsequent application to build a 50m swimming pool.

Sea Lanes will help return Madeira Drive to its former glory by building the National Open Water Swimming Centre